Question

6. Why does the Commerce Clause have expanded importance to both business management and civic life? What does it protect and require in everyday business management?

Answer 1

Why does the commerce clause have expanded importance to both business management and civic life? What does it protect and require in everyday business management?

Commerce Clause

·         The Commerce Clause is an enumerated power of the United States Constitution.

·         According to the clause, the United States Congress has power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."

·         The Commerce clause of US Congress can be categorized into 3 subcategories namely:

o   The Foreign Commerce Clause,

o   The Interstate Commerce Clause, and

o   The Indian Commerce Clause

Reason for integrating commerce clause with the civic life and expanding it further

Business expansion within a country will provide:

·         Increase in employment rate,

·         Increases in GDP,

·         Makes availability of a wider variety of goods and services for consumption,

·         Reduces monopoly

·         Promotes healthy business competition, which in-turn provides consumption of products and services at cheaper cost.

But, if all this happens by degrading the living environment and devastating civilian life residing within and the nearby vicinity, then this growth would be temporary. Corporate or Business will take away all the resources within the region and look for another, leaving nothing for the future generation in the vicinity or simply termed as colonization. To avoid such business practices and to protect US civilians, the commerce clause was expanded.

Few incidents for reference:

·         In the Upstate Citizens case, many New Yorkers, civic groups, and few towns argued that the Clause did not permit the Secretary to transfer 13,000 acres of land to the Oneida Indian Nation acquired for the business.

·         As many as 200 Utahans argued that Congress’s authority to regulate commerce for the protection of the Utah prairie dog. They observed that the animal serves no economic purpose; blocks construction projects; put at risk public health; and damages private property.

Hence, taking many cases into consideration, the US Congress wanted to fill the gap in commerce clauses. Hereby, among the 14 amendments of commerce clauses civic rights were included and expanded further, Some of the Civic-based clause enumerated in commerce clause is:

·         Civil Rights Act of 1964

·         Voting Rights Act of 1965

·         Civil Rights Act of 1968

·         State Civil Rights Efforts

·         Disenfranchisement

·         Reconstruction Era

For a better understanding of above-mentioned clause, please refer:

(https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/civil_rights)

What does it protect and require in everyday business management?

Hence, the Civic clauses within commerce clause provide the civilians equality, right to vote, talk and exhibit an act of liberty to protect themselves and their environment from the harm of business operations.

According to the clause the business management has to operate in a manner that;

·         Does not harm any public health and environment,

·         Does not damages any private property.

·         Consider civilian interest during business operations.

·         Should not pollute the environment.